Putin offering new ring for Kraft

The Sports Xchange

The SportsXchangeJune 21, 2013

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to have a special ring made for New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Last week, Kraft said that Putin pocketed his $25,000 Super Bowl XXXIX ring but a Putin spokesman countered that the ring was a gift. "You know, I do not remember either Mr. Kraft or the ring," Putin told AFP. "They handed out some sorts of souvenirs. But if it is such a valuable thing to Mr. Kraft and his team, I have a proposal. "We will ask our enterprises to craft a really good, noticeable thing -- so it is clear that it is expensive, made of a good metal, with a rock -- so that this jewel is passed on from generation to generation in the team whose interests Mr. Kraft represents. "I think that this would be the most intelligent ... solution to such a difficult international problem." AFP reported that Putin made the comments "with a hint of a smile," implying that Putin was being sarcastic. The incident occurred eight years ago when Kraft met Putin after the Patriots won the Super Bowl. "I took out the ring and showed it to (Putin), and he put it on and he goes, 'I can kill someone with this ring,' " Kraft said last week in recalling the meeting. "I put my hand out, and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out." Kraft then said he was told by the White House to claim the ring was a gift for the good of international relations. The ring is reportedly being stored in a Kremlin library reserved for other gifts and Russian treasures.